NEW YORK CITY – For Zoran Mamdani, it starts and ends in Astoria. Astoria was where he spoke publicly for the first time after representing the state for five years and winning the Democratic primary for mayor in June.
On Monday, the 34-year-old made his last public appearance before Tuesday’s voting day, standing on a playground at dusk with the sounds of children laughing behind him.
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His message to the volunteer army, which is said to be made up of more than 100,000 people, is to “leave everything on the field.”
“These are the people who got us to the point where we were making history in this city,” he said, “making history to show that if you focus and fight for workers, you can actually reshape the politics of the place you call home.”
US President Donald Trump may have been able to win the 2024 presidential election on deep fears about the country’s price crisis, but Mamdani argued that it was he and his mayoral campaign who could actually address these challenges in America’s largest city.
Indeed, President Trump’s presence loomed large on Monday as Mamdani stood in front of a cheering crowd wearing his familiar campaign yellow beanie and an equally large crowd of local, national and international media.
Just a few hours ago, the US president explicitly endorsed former Governor Andrew Cuomo, saying New Yorkers must choose a “bad democrat” over a “communist,” a false label the president has repeatedly applied to democratic socialist Mamdani.
Shortly after, billionaire Elon Musk also endorsed Cuomo, a Democrat running as an independent, after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary.
The latest polls show Mamdani maintaining a commanding lead over Cuomo, although it has shrunk. The delay in endorsing the former governor, who had explicitly called on conservatives to resign and support Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in his place, could further destabilize an already volatile race.
Still, Mr. Mamdani’s supporters said Monday they hoped the candidate’s speech would cap off a campaign widely seen as a rebuke to the entrenched donor-led Democratic establishment that Mr. Cuomo appears to represent.
“I feel great right now,” said Tasnuva Khan, who joined the campaign trail on Monday, adding that the campaign had revealed the strength of both Muslim voters and the city’s rapidly growing Bangladeshi community.
If Mamdani wins, he will be the first Muslim, first South Asian and first African-born person to lead the city.
“But I try to maintain a balance. Elections are won by votes. As long as we stay focused, continue to reach out to community members, continue to be in the streets, continue to knock on doors, I think we can definitely make a difference,” she told Al Jazeera.
But Shabnam Salehezadehi, a Long Island City, Queens dentist and supporter of Mamdani, said she worries the real challenge for mayoral candidates will begin after the election.
He noted that a victory would be just the bare minimum, but he would have to win buy-in from a coalition of members from both the state House and City Council to pass many of his far-reaching promises, including free buses, universal child care, and a rent freeze on most of the city’s apartment buildings that would be paid for with higher taxes on businesses and the wealthy.
“I’m really nervous, not so much about whether he’s going to win,” Salehezadehi said, adding that he was initially drawn to Mamdani because of his passionate support for Palestinian rights, which sets him apart from the traditional Democratic mainstream.
“I sincerely hope that Zoran Mamdani is up to the task of proving that he is the candidate that the city enthusiastically voted for,” she said.
election day is approaching
Cuomo also crisscrossed the city on the final day of the race, visiting the Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn.
In the Bronx’s Fordham neighborhood, which represents some of the minority-majority working-class neighborhoods that Mr. Cuomo supported in the primary, the former governor stood on a park bench overlooking nearby street vendors.
He charged that if Mandani wins, New York will become a “socialist city.”
“Socialism didn’t work in Venezuela. Socialism didn’t work in Cuba. Socialism won’t work in New York City,” he said on the final day of the campaign.
Later, during a stop in Manhattan’s Washington Heights, Mr. Cuomo answered questions about Mr. Trump’s consent at a time when Mr. Cuomo was already under intense scrutiny for sharing many of the same billionaire donors as the Republican president.
“He called me a bad Democrat. First of all, I happen to be a good Democrat, a proud Democrat, and I’m going to continue to be a proud Democrat. Mamdani is not a communist,” Cuomo said. “He’s a socialist. But we don’t need a socialist mayor either.”
But for Gwendolyn Page, 69, a special educator in the Bronx, the “socialist label” won’t deter her from voting for Mamdani.
Instead, she pointed to Mr. Cuomo’s legacy. Cuomo’s father, Mario Cuomo, also served as governor. The younger Mr. Cuomo resigned in 2021 following allegations of sexual misconduct.
“Cuomo is the only person who stands up to the Trump administration,” Page told Al Jazeera from the Fordham area, although he denied endorsing Trump.
“Look, tomorrow Trump will say something else,” she said. “That’s why we don’t keep much inventory.”
At least 735,000 voters have already cast their ballots early, a fraction of the city’s 4.7 million registered voters.
Voting will be open from 6am to 9pm on Tuesday (11am GMT on Tuesday to 2pm GMT on Wednesday), with the winner expected to be known within the next few hours. The winner will be inaugurated in January.
There are only a few hours left until Election Day, but some votes are still being cast.
Lisa Gonzalez, a military veteran, pointed to the dire situation for low-income Americans, including the restrictions on Food Assistance Benefits (SNAP) that were included in the bill President Trump and Republicans passed earlier this year.
President Trump also threatened to cut federal funding to New York City and deploy the National Guard if Mamdani was elected.
“I’m still deciding. I feel like the stakes are very high,” she said. “So I’m going to be very careful when I vote tomorrow.”
